EDIT:/ Okay so this came out as a shameless fanservice so I'll either re-write the chapter next time I upload or will leave it as a side chapter that can be read separately from the rest of the fic. I really want the story to be darker than my usual fics and I regret not following that path as I intended.
So, ignore this chapter in terms of plot and story atmosphere. I let my hands write and post too fast.
Starscream followed Knock Out home that night. The medic was the only mech that could see and hear him and Starscream could use the company, despite of what Knock Out has said and done to him.
When he entered the other's new apartment, the seeker wasn't all that surprised by what he saw. The interior was spacious although it was only a room and a washracks. It also had very few items. Knock Out's beauty products such as various size buffers, oils, polishes, etc, were neatly stocked on the only shelf in the room. The berth was far too spacious for just one mech, especially for someone of Knock Out's alt mode and size. But the red mech always liked to pamper himself so no surprise there.
What surprised Starscream, however, was the weird clothing and the fluffy-looking thing on the berth. No question it was an idea Knock Out has stolen from the humans. He had too much interest in what they did and Starscream found that disgusting.
A work station, a desk, and a nightstand were the only other things in the apartment. It was clear Knock Out has moved in not long ago. Probably only a couple of days.
"I'll take a shower. I don't know if ghosts recharge but make yourself comfortable if you want." Knock Out's voice was somewhat distant. He entered the washracks and the sound of running liquid was heard shortly after.
Starscream hasn't replied to the medic. But ghosts didn't recharge. He knew that much. And as lonely as Starscream felt during the day, the night was even worse. The previous nights he has spent roaming the renewed Cybertron. And if he wasn't a mech that clung to life or whatever state he was in at the moment as strongly as Starscream did – he could've probably tried to enter the Well.
But that night, Starscream decided to spend in Knock Out's apartment. The quiet sounds the medic's frame made while recharging should offer some false sense of relaxation and comfort to Starscream. At least that's what he hoped for.
But while he was waiting for Knock Out to finish his shower and go into recharge, Starscream decided it's the perfect opportunity to go through the medic's belongings, no matter how few they seemed to be.
The various buffers and oils presented no interest to Starscream. Although their sheer number was astonishing for just one mech to have. Knock Out's worktable was slightly more interesting. But Starscream's scientific knowledge was not at a very high level so many of the datapads remained a mystery to him. But whatever he managed to understand didn't seem like a very interesting project anyway. So he moved on.
The nightstand was what intrigued the seeker ghost the most. He couldn't touch anything because of his current state so he couldn't open the nightstand. However, that was not necessary. He smirked and for the first time since he has become a ghost, he could finally use his state as an advantage.
He phased his helm through the small door easily. Even when locked, the metal door didn't close tightly so just enough light was getting through for Starscream to see what was inside. And what was inside would've made his faceplates burn if he still had a frame. The close proximity between his face and the content of the nightstand made his embarrassment even greater.
Sure he knew Knock Out was a hedonist. But the sheer amount of interface toys inside the nightstand was astonishing. And most of them looked too new to be from before the war. And no such industry existed after the war started and consumed all of Cybertron. Which only left one possible explanation – Knock Out has made most of them himself.
Starscream's attention was focused on one particularly interesting toy when the washracks' door slid open. The seeker ghost panicked, not wanting to be caught going through Knock Out's intimate toys. So he fled. He vanished faster than Knock Out's optics could follow and went on and on until he was at least a couple of blocks away from the red mech's apartment.
Naturally, he didn't hear the other calling after him. And after a couple of minutes of calling for Starscream, Knock Out just gave up, thinking the seeker didn't want to spend time with him after all. Maybe he has gotten bored and left. Knock Out never pretended he knew what Starscream thought or was about to do. He thought he knew once and he got thrown under the bus.
But since Starscream wouldn't be around anyway, Knock Out wasn't about to pass a chance to relax after a day of work. The way he liked the best.
Starscream spend a good half an hour wandering the neighborhood. And he got really bored. Maybe Knock Out hasn't seen him peeking in his nightstand. With that thought in mind, he went back, a bit reluctantly though. He didn't want Knock Out to think he liked his company or anything. He just liked being noticed and currently – Knock Out was the only one who could even see him.
The seeker ghost grumbled to himself on his way back. Since he could phase through anything, he felt no need to do so through the door. A wall was equally sufficient. And the wall he chose to phase through offered truly the best view of something he definitely did not expect.
Such as that of Knock Out lying on his berth, legs spread, hips slightly lifted off the berth and two fingers buried deep in his valve, shamelessly pleasuring himself after a day of hard work. It took Starscream less than a second to have that image and the accompanying moans burned into his processor forever. He gasped inventorially but it was just enough to alarm Knock Out.
The red mech's fingers stopped instantaneously, still buried deep in the valve, and he lifted his helm. His optics widened even more when he saw Starscream's ghost floating just a few steps away from him. He roughly removed his wet fingers, which was only followed by interface fluids gushing out of the worked up valve. And Starscream's gaze, naturally, glued there. Only when Knock Out messily and manually clicked his interface panel closed did Starscream look away.
"Is a bit of privacy too much to ask?!" Knock Out's voice was angry but also strained from the denied pleasure and overload. "The fact that you can phase through walls doesn't mean you have to stalk others when they get off. And mechs call me the pervert. Pff."
It took Starscream a couple of seconds to realize what he was accused of.
"WHAT!? I am NOT a pervert! And I was NOT stalking you… you… doing...! I just came back and you just happened to do it! Don't flatter yourself thinking I would even want to watch you touch yourself!" the seeker's optics were open wide to a ridiculous degree. It was unbelievable to Starscream to be accused of being a pervert by Knock Out no less!
"How convenient." Knock Out's reply was dripping with sarcasm. Although, on second though, the red mech could somewhat believe Starscream's word. Especially since the other couldn't even bring himself to say 'self-servicing'.
"FINE! Don't believe me! See if I care! Because I don't!" Starscream's tantrum was over quickly and he didn't even wait for Knock Out's reply before he phased through the wall again.
Knock Out sighed dramatically and teased his panel open again. If the damage's been already done, he could at least finish what he started.
"Oh and one more thi-ARGHH!"
"STARSCREAM!"
Unintentionally, Starscream walked in on Knock Out self-servicing two more times during the following few days. Every time Starscream has quickly left with a groan of disgust and every time Knock Out has screamed after him to stop ruining his fun times.
Until one day Starscream phased into the washracks to ask Knock Out an important question and caught the medic with a servo firmly wrapped around his spike and back pressed against the wall behind him. At first Starscream has been surprised the red mech was able to remove his back wheels at will but it was no longer strange to see the other like that.
Seeing Knock Out self-servicing, however, still managed to come as a surprise to Starscream. This time though, Knock Out didn't even make an attempt to stop pleasuring himself when he noticed the seeker ghost floating a couple of steps away from him. He simply half opened his optics to see Starscream and then closed them again, letting out a quiet moan and tilting his helm back even more.
The servo worked the spike faster and faster while Starscream was very slowly floating closer to Knock Out. When he was less than an arm away, he curled his upper lip in disgust.
"You have no shame."
"I'm not, ah, the one staring when, mhm, others are self-servicing." Knock Out didn't even bother to look at the seeker.
And Starscream detested being insulted and ignored. And what a better way to improve his own mood than to ruin Knock Out's! Clearly remembering the red mech's reaction to being touched by a ghost, Starscream's evil mind quickly came up with a nasty little plan. He extended his finger and phased it right through Knock Out's spike, expecting the hot/cold sensation to utterly ruin what the other's been working towards till now.
Except it didn't. It had quite the opposite effect actually. Knock Out let out a loud moan of ecstasy when an overload hit him hard and absolutely out of the blue, making his legs weak. He slid against the wall until his aft hit the ground and a stupid satisfied smile graced his lips.
"Maybe you're worth keeping around after all.~"
"UGH! Disgusting! It wasn't supposed to have that effect!" Starscream furiously phased through the wall but it wasn't before Knock Out's words teased him further.
"Well, it's one time a failed plan of yours end well for me."
Starscream has almost forgotten why he went into the washracks in the first place. He had thought of a plan to rid himself of his current ghostly form. A way to get a frame back. And if nothing else, he was as always – determined.
"I meant to ask you something earlier."
Knock Out lifted his helm. "What is it?"
Starscream floated in circles around the red mech. "I know that our companionship meant nothing to you-"
"You threw me under the bus first. And you kept insulting and treating me badly."
"- and since I got killed because of you-"
"Now that's just a filthy lie. I thought we were past this!"
Starscream kept ignoring Knock Out's interruptions.
"—I think you owe me at least one favor. To clear your guilty consciousness."
"That's rich. Are you even listening to yourself, Starscream?! Or is your processor that damaged?"
Starscream ignored him once again. And although Knock Out should've been used to that by now, it still irked him to no end.
"Okay then, what 'favour' do you want from me?" The red mech sighed and crossed his arms. But he was not prepared for what he heard.
"I want you to fix my frame."
"What!? Why?" Knock Out frowned. There was no way this could end well.
"I deserve a proper burial. I don't want my frame rusting out there, beaten into a heap by those savages! You can at least fix it for me, Knock Out. It's not like it's something you haven't done before."
Against his better judgment, Knock Out couldn't deny Starscream the simplest of favours. Knowing Starscream, this would go horribly wrong. But he also still couldn't help but think that maybe the seeker didn't have a foul intention this time.
"Okay."
